I'm not typically one to post a long-winded blog about why I quit, I would rather just troll you in the forums and then fade silently into the night with my troll supremacy intact. However, I really wanted to like this as an MMORPG*. Most of my friends are playing it, and even some of my former MMORPG* associates who are typically of the same mind as me. I feel somehow invested, at least in some small part, in this game in that it was the first MMORPG* since WoW released that I followed and tried to force down my throat until I liked it.

That being said, without pontificating too much, there are some key issues I feel are problematic in capturing the holistic experience of an MMORPG*.

1.) Sharding/Phasing was overdone. I say that like it is dogma, and perhaps some people would choose to offer an opposing opinion, but I'm going to say that I'm right on this one. It puts a small population onto a large world, thus giving the illusion that the world is vast and empty. Unfortunately, General Chat being populate does not solve this problem.

2.) Client. Ability Lag. If you say you haven't experienced it, the only thing that means is you don't have fast enough reactions to notice it. It's great that this flaw in design doesn't have an effect on your lethargic style of gameplay, but it is is very real and existent for all customers who can thing several moves ahead.

2b.) Single-threaded Client. Dear people saying "ALL MY CORES ARE RUNNING": Multicore does not equal multithreaded. It is, in fact and in no part fiction, a single threaded client architecture. There is nothing to dispute here, it's fact. There is no real reason to not have built your own client BioWare other than you wanted to hurry up and try for the MMORPG WoW-Lull before expansion moneygrab. This smacks of a slovenly approach to what you should have tried to make your magnum opus**.

3.) Incomplete Features. While I don't begrudge you the exclusion of some more technical feats like LFD since you couldn't even write your own engine I can't very well expect you to have the technical prowess to accomplish such a feat. I can begrudge you the lack of some basic features that games should ship with. For example, combat log, customizable UI (pick one: scalable, movable, fully customizable), adequate textures (not talking about just the high-end crowd here), a functional Auction House, and a working ticketing system. These are just a few things that any game should ship with as they are integral to the entire design of the game. You have a backfacing combat log to measure your encounters and balance, you will have UI, you will have an Auction House, you will have a customer support ticketing system.

4.) Customer Service. This one is a very sore subject among many, and rightfully so. I put in a ticket for an item and received a generic reply update one day, three days later the ticket was closed. I wasn't that concerned with it, mostly because I just wanted to see what their CS would do. The CS department is abominable. I'm typically least concerned with outside of game items, but this one is so horrid that it was the first MMORPG* to make my list for this debacle.

5.) Lack of Effort/Innovation. In reality the only thing innovative was the voice acting. Most of it was good, but it grew tiresome after level 25. My spacebar took a beating with this. Outside of that, you used poor copies of almost everything else in the industry only you decided to do it worse. Maybe the innovation is to put out a mediocre game based on past gamer "street cred", which you had from me with BG/2 DAO KOTOR NWN. That is lost now with the "mass effecation", or should I say "mass defecation", that you've incorporated into anything since your prodigy child Mr. Knowles left. Did you really forget what made you money? Did the ridiculously huge response to DAO and subsequent nerd-infused ****** cannon fired into your hearts not wake you from this dream of rapidly producing voice acted, massively redundant and uninspired games?

6.) Fixing Beta Problems. So, I beta tested. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Not really. Honestly though I filed several glaring bug reports and concerns during beta, almost none of which were addressed and are being actively touted as flags of failure on the forums. Unpaid employees told you what was wrong, some of us even offered potential code snippets on how it might be fixed. Yet you ignored it.

That's my short list, not encompassing the opportunities I feel they missed out on. I guess I'll have to make my own game for those to actually see fruition in totality being represented inside of one game. Right fanboys? So, I've quit. The game has a lot to work on and who knows, maybe in a few years it might be an acceptable game deserving of a thumbs up from me, although I doubt it.

BioWare, the street cred has run out. You're producing Triple A garbage in comparison to your earlier feats of brilliance. I'd like to invite you to check out T2A Ultima Online for what an MMORPG should strive to accomplish in its simplicity yet depth of gameplay and interactiveness with the world that no voice actor can ever hope to capture. Good Luck.

* - I use the term MMORPG loosely when referring to SWTOR. It doesn't feel, in my opinion, how an MMORPG should feel. The only thing Massive about it is the landmass, which only makes it feel empty and hollow. There are other qualms but it's again my opinion and no up for debate.

** - In regards to the magnum opus comment. You spent a currently estimate 500 million dollars on this game. It should really have been made the crown jewel of your gaming empire with that kind of budget and the level of development put into this piece. Yet, you still came nowhere near capturing the greatness of BG/2, NWN, KOTOR, or DAO.

-Tokee

Man if they close this thread this will give me an confirmed outlook on what's really going on.

Good points and very constructive.

Bye. All of us will most probably not going to notice you anyways.

But you did, and that's enough for me.

Bye. All of us will most probably not going to notice you anyways.

Or maybe by some miracle the devs will take notice and fix these things so those that want to fanboy it up can have a game worth the heavy praise they dump on it.

Not even going to bother quoting that...but I find it funny when people try to reconcile with themselves when they post the wall of shame "why-i-quit-your-game-cause-i-think-you-suck" post.

Honestly, you have some pretty harsh criticisms for a company who has never made an MMO before. Add to that the game hasn't even been out in retail space for three months.

If you are that closed minded to allowing things to improve over time, more power to you. I would be very surprised if you hadn't posted similar threads on all of the other major MMOs out there, but yet wouldn't hesitate to come to their defense completely forgetting the fact that most of them had worse launches...

Man if they close this thread this will give me an confirmed outlook on what's really going on.

 

Good points and very constructive.

yeah, sigh

I just hope they listen to the folks who are upset, if you can filter out the BS, there are valid complaints, I'm hearing this all over the interweb and outside the game. What's going on?

Bye. All of us will most probably not going to notice you anyways.

your just mad because he is right.

Not even going to bother quoting that...but I find it funny when people try to reconcile with themselves when they post the wall of shame "why-i-quit-your-game-cause-i-think-you-suck" post.

 

Honestly, you have some pretty harsh criticisms for a company who has never made an MMO before. Add to that the game hasn't even been out in retail space for three months.

If you are that closed minded to allowing things to improve over time, more power to you. I would be very surprised if you hadn't posted similar threads on all of the other major MMOs out there, but yet wouldn't hesitate to come to their defense completely forgetting the fact that most of them had worse launches...

I would say it is more closed-minded to continue paying them more and more money while you wait for what you were told you would receive with your initial purchase. I am sure this person and many others, including myself, would resub if the developers were actually going to fix the myriad of problems. Right now there are too many issues being ignored while they pat themselves on the back and say "Star Wars: The Old Republic stands as one of the greatest and most ambitious achievements in video game history."

I would say it is more closed-minded to continue paying them more and more money while you wait for what you were told you would receive with your initial purchase. I am sure this person and many others, including myself, would resub if the developers were actually going to fix the myriad of problems. Right now there are too many issues being ignored while they pat themselves on the back and say "Star Wars: The Old Republic stands as one of the greatest and most ambitious achievements in video game history."

Exactly.

Another one bites the dust.

Another one what?

I agree with the OP's point 2a, otherwise I don't give a rats about the rest. Though it would be nice to be able to jump higher than my ankles.

Hello everyone,

We do appreciate when anyone has taken the time to express their thoughts and concerns. Unfortunately, we will be closing this thread, as there is little room for constructive discussion. However, we do value any feedback and do encourage anyone to voice their feedback on the forums. We only ask that feedback center around Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ - not cancellations.

We encourage you to please participate in the below linked thread with any specific feedback you have regarding the game. Please remember to keep it constructive and about Star Wars™: The Old Republic™

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=87349

Thank you.